Helping Hands
by klwwlk
Summary: When Velvet overhears news about a struggling town off the coast of Vale, she sets off on a journey to help the town, whatever it may cost her.
1. Headlines

"Velvet, did you hear the news?" Fox asked, holding up a newspaper for comedic effect.

"I don't believe so, what happened?" Velvet replied, her right ear twitching slightly.

"There's some village off the coast of Vale that's running out of food and water. Grimm attacks are common, so nobody feels it's necessary to help." Fox said, closing the newspaper. "Coco told me about it yesterday.

"That's terrible!" Velvet cried, hurriedly standing up from her chair. "Why would people do such a thing?"

"Well, those people obviously aren't hunters and huntresses, probably just some CEO's of big business." Fox stretched, heading for the door. "I'm gonna get some food, want to come with?"

"No thanks, I think I found myself a project..." Velvet replied, staring at her desk methodically. "I've got it!"

Velvet ran out of her dorm room, slamming the door behind her. She would go and tell Team RWBY, they would know what to do! Velvet suddenly halted in the middle of the courtyard, remembering that Team RWBY Was on another mission near Mountain Glenn, cleaning up what was left there.

"What's up little bun?" Coco asked, suddenly appearing right next to Velvet, who instinctively jumped into the fountain.

"Coco, you need to warn me! I thought you were Cardin!" Velvet pouted, her favorite shirt now soaked. It was a light brown shirt with her logo on it in bronze. Very comfortable, she thought.

"Sorry, thought you would recognize my voice after three years. So why all the hurry?" Coco demanded, lowering her sunglasses. "I take it Fox told you about Kakos Village?"

"Yup, I'm trying to find out how to help them!" Velvet said proudly, stepping out of the fountain. "But this is most likely a setback..."

"I would help, but I've got bookwork to do. Y'know, the stuff that you finished the first week of class, even though it's the 3rd quarter." Coco replied, fixing her beret. "There's something you should know about Kakos though."

"What would that be?" Velvet inquired, turning to face Coco.

"They absolutely _despise_ the Faunus. I'm talking about lynch-level hate." Coco warned, seeing Velvet's face turn to fright.

"Well... I can borrow your largest beret! The one I used to hide my ears at the beginning of my time at Beacon!" Velvet exclaimed, remembering how Coco let her borrow berets any day.

"Sure, feel free. Just remember to take a few, they tend to get dirty easily." Coco waved, spotting Nora sprinting after Cardin in the distance. "Gotta go, looks like we got ourselves a Cardin hunt!"

Coco sprinted off to follow Nora, leaving Velvet alone in the middle of the courtyard, still soaking wet. She began walking back to the dorms, only to run straight into Professor Ozpin.

"Professor Ozpin! My apologies, I didn't see you there!" Velvet worried before seeing Ozpin smile.

"It's quite alright Ms. Scarlatina. I've heard you have plans to visit Kakos Village?" Ozpin asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yes, I do. I want to go help them out, even if they hate the Faunus." Velvet said with a fire in her eyes, despite her appearance.

"Well, the world certainly needs more people like you. Best of luck to you, but just call if you get into too much trouble. We can always send the rest of your team to help." Ozpin said, waving as he walked away, sipping his coffee.

"Help me! Somebody!" Cardin yelled, running into the courtyard at top speed, Nora and Coco still right on his tail. Coco never laid a finger on Cardin; she just liked to keep him intimidated.


	2. Arrival

_One Week Later_

"Goodbye everyone! I'll see you once the village is safe again!" Velvet waved, with the rest of her team returning the wave along with Teams JNPR and RWBY.

"Stay safe Velvet! Call me if you get into trouble!" Blake called, while Coco made a heart sign with her hands. Velvet blushed and straightened her beret. She returned the symbol as the helicarrier took off, sending Velvet and multiple crates of supplied off towards Kakos Village.

"Ms. Scarlatina, could you please take a seat? There are some storms on the way there, and I don't want you to get hurt." The pilot asked, the voice very familiar to her.

"Jazzy? Is that you?" Velvet asked, poking her head into the cockpit to see her cousin waving back at her. "Jazzy! You made it into flight school!"

"Yeah, I heard about a flight scheduled for a 'Ms. Velvet Scarlatina' and I immediately jumped on the waiting list to fly it. Since I'm family, I got priority!" Jazzy replied, patting the seat next to her. "Sit!"

The flight went by quickly, despite the few hours it was scheduled to take. Velvet and her cousin, whose actual name was Jasmine, talked almost the whole way there.

"Whoa, these guys hate the Faunus? Why are you helping 'em then?" Jazzy asked, approaching the landing pad set out by the Kakos residents.

"Well, I'm a huntress, my job is to help people. I'll see you soon, hopefully!" Velvet replied, grabbing her bag and holding onto her beret as she hopped off of the helicarrier, multiple residents already cluttering the landing pad.

"Are you the huntress they sent? You don't look much like the description." A short man said, handing her their 'professional illustration' of the expected huntress, who turned out to be much shorter than her, and not a Faunus.

"Well, most of the administrators at Beacon are very tall, so my height was probably exaggerated." Velvet replied, turning to see Jazzy unload multiple crates of water, food, and farming supplies.

"Well, we're glad to have you anyways. Our village is dying of hunger at this point, we can barely feed ourselves, let alone keep off Grimm." Another man said, this one tall and frail. "How rude of me. My name's Alphonse, and this is my brother Steven."

"I'm Velvet, pleasure to meet you." Velvet said, shaking both men's' hands. "I only have one rule for me helping you guys. The beret stays on."

"And why would that be?" Steven asked, crossing his arms.

"My sister died guarding a town from a Grimm invasion, so I was it to remember her." Velvet lied, completely fooling the townspeople.

"Fair enough, thanks again for helping us." Alphonse said, pointing to a tall building. "That's the main housing building, you're booked for the first floor."

"Thank you, I'll get set upright away." Velvet replied.


	3. A Show of Souls

_A Few Hours Later_

"Steven, could you get everyone? I want to ration out the water and food right now, so we don't have to worry about it later." Velvet asked. Steven was running to get everyone before she finished her sentence.

"Everyone! Come meet Velvet, she's got food and water!" Steven screamed, and families began flooding out of their homes towards her.

Velvet stared in horror at the people. Mothers and children looked to be paper-thin, while the fathers weren't much better. Many of the children were under the age of five, with a few babies included.

"Well everyone, I'm Velvet. I want to do a head-count so we can make sure everyone gets the amount of food you need. Rest assured I have enough for at least a week for each family." Velvet gestured to the pile of crates labeled appropriately for their contents.

"Thanks you Ms. Velvet!" A boy cried out, and cheers grew through the crowd. Velvet blushed before seeing another helicarrier approach on the horizon.

"Alphonse, tally up every family, and include how many people are in each. I'll work on unboxing the food." Velvet said, handing Alphonse a clipboard and a few sheets of paper.

"Will do Velvet!" Alphonse said, making an army salute as a joke.

 _'There's no way these people can be that bad to Faunus...'_ Velvet thought as the next helicarrier landed, the doors opening to reveal a news reporter and a few crates of supplies.

"Ms. Velvet, we're here to report on your amazing humanitarian deed! We brought along some supplies, if that's fine with you." The reporter said in a proud voice, it was obvious he was recording already.

"Um, sure. Just don't take my beret off, it's a reminder of my sister." Velvet summarized before taking the clipboard from Alphonse. Velvet froze as she read off the numbers on the paper.

"Alphonse, are you sure these are correct? There doesn't seem to be this many people in the crowd." Velvet asked, doing a quick head-count to affirm her statement.

"Many people are sick in their houses, they can't even move at this point." Alphonse said grimly, everyone's head lowering, and prayers were murmured throughout the crowd.

"Let me see them. Steven, you and Alphonse work on rationing the food and water. Leave all supplies saying 'Farm' or 'Medicine' alone, understood?" Velvet commanded, and a head-nod from the brothers was all she needed to run off towards the first home, the news reporter hot on her tail.


	4. Amazing Grace

"Please tell me it isn't as bad as he said..." Velvet murmured, but the first door proved it to be true. Multiple people in their mid to late 40's were huddled in a house, their eyes crying for help from their sickness.

"Okay, maybe this can help..." Velvet said, pulling her box from her side belt. "I've been building this up for a while, but this is the first time I've tried it."

Velvet opened the box, and a bright light shone from inside. She pulled out a small crystal no bigger than a fingernail and set it on the palm of her hand. Her hand glowed a bright white, and her face showed of happiness.

"This is an aura-enhancing form of dust used in a lot of medicine. My friend and I worked to make it applicable by hand." Velvet said to the men and women in the room, silently thanking Weiss for helping her in their first year.

Velvet touched her hand to the first man's forehead, his skin suddenly shining a dull white. She repeated this with every adult, all of them being suddenly cured of their illness. The adults cheered, running outside, screaming praise.

"The Angel of the Lord has come!" They screamed, Velvet blushing in response.

"I'm not an angel, I'm just a huntress." Velvet mumbled, walking over to the next house to repeat the task.


	5. Anger of Death

_That Night_

Everyone gathered in the town center for dinner, the children running around and playing. Velvet mashed up some fire dust to throw in the air and gave some for the kids to enjoy. She had made sure it was completely safe, however.

"May we all bow our heads in prayer." The town's leader, Nathaniel, said. Velvet bowed her head, as customary for these people.

"Dear Father in Heaven, thank you for sending an angel to heal us of our faults. May her light continue to shine on this town until it becomes greater than it ever as. Amen." Nathaniel prayed, and everyone offered a toast to Velvet, which she graciously accepted.

Everyone ate dinner happily, Velvet getting multiple toasts and hugs, her beret never moving from its spot on her head. Plenty of the kids were infatuated with it, wanting to have one for themselves. As soon as the commotion from dinner died down a little, Nathaniel froze.

"Grimm! Get to your homes!" Nathaniel screamed, everyone scattering from the town's center except for a few men, Nathaniel, and Velvet.

"How could you hear them from so far away?" Velvet asked, seeing a pack of beowolves come from over the horizon.

"I've trained myself, since we can only hide to survive, our fighters are far too weak to fight them off." Nathaniel answered, seeing the Grimm were now but 200 feet away.

"I'll handle this." Velvet said, her eyes ablaze. These monsters had ruined everyone's day and meal, and she wouldn't let it happen any longer.

"No! You can't beat a whole pack of them by yourself!" Nathaniel screamed as Velvet sprinted off to meet the monsters.

Velvet pulled a vial of fire dust out of her belt, scattering it about the air. She organized it into a spear, which she learned how to do from watching the fighting tapes of Cinder from the previous year. She condensed the dust, forming the spear, which she gripped tightly in her hands.

Velvet stabbed the first beowolf straight through, their claws never reaching her arm. She turned and slashed, taking out two beowolves. She back-flipped over another, causing the Grimm to run into one another. She tossed the spear through a Grimm and defaulted to her usual fighting style. She knocked a beowolf away with a swift kick, following it up with multiple punches to take it out.

Before she knew it, the entire pack of beowolves was down, their bodies dissolving on the cracked ground. Citizens slowly came out of their homes to see her standing in the middle of the now-deceased enemies. She turned and offered a warm smile, eliciting cheers from the crowd.

"The Angel can fight!"


	6. Reinforcements

_Four Days Later_

"Velvet, another helicarrier is here!" A boy called from the front of the farm, to which she was helping tend to. In just four days, she had helped the town establish a fully functional farm.

Velvet walked over to the helipad to see Jazzy waving at her from the front seat. She gestured for Velvet to come inside, jumping out of the cockpit. The door opened, and a group of people crashed out, not a single one landing on their feet.

"Velvet, look! These people want to help as well!" Jazzy said, gesturing to the mass of people struggling to get off of the ground. "They all donated food and water, and they wanted to help hands-on as well!"

"Hi Velvet, I'm glad to meet you! We're here to help!" A short girl, no taller than Velvet was, said excitedly. "I'm CB!"

"CB? What does that stand for?" Another boy asked, clearly trying to make fun of her.

"Cranberry. My parents were history nerds so they wanted to follow the whole 'name your kids a color' thing really well and uniquely." CB responded, turning back to Velvet. "Anyways, we're here to help!"

"I'm glad to hear it, you can start by helping people work on and tend to the farm if you'd like." Velvet said nicely, and three crates, all labeled 'Farm', were all being rushed towards the farm, and within hours it would be expanded threefold.

"So Jazzy, what do you think?" Velvet asked, showing her cousin all the work she'd done in the past few days.

The town looked completely changed. A new building opened for rationing of food, water, and medicine, the other houses looked much better, and everyone was on the paths or working, nobody else was sick. It looked as if Velvet was actually an angel.

"Wow Velvet, you've got a knack for this!" Jazzy said, smacking Velvet on the back. "If only they didn't hate the Faunus, then this town would be ready to advance towards the likes of Vale soon!"

"Jazzy, Vale still has problems with Faunus, you know. Just much less expressed." Velvet replied, taking it as a reminder to fix her beret, just to make sure nobody exposed her secret.

"It's a wonder you've been able to wear the same hat for five days straight. I get tired after wearing one for a few hours!" Jazzy joked, smacking Velvet on the back again. Since Jazzy was a few inches shorter than Velvet, she had to reach up a little.

"Well Velvet, I think you've done an amazing job to this town." Jazzy said, looking over to see the new kids digging holes as if they were drills. "Those kids really got something in them, don't they?"

"Yes, yes they do." Velvet replied, looking to see a small girl sprint up from behind the chapel.


	7. Discovery

"Velvet! Velvet! My friend Ivy fell down a hole and she can't get out!" The girl cried, tears streaming from her eyes.

"What's your name? I can help you get her out safely." Velvet soothed, and the girl's tears went away almost instantly.

"I'm Mint, just follow me!" Mint lead Velvet to a small cave, teeming with thorns and branches. Ivy's shirt was torn, and she was stuck in a bush of thorns.

"Don't worry Ivy, I'm coming to help!" Velvet called down before jumping down the ten-foot drop into the hole.

Velvet carefully removed the brambles from Ivy's shirt and arms, freeing the girl from the bush. Ivy thanked Velvet profusely, and Velvet tossed her out with ease. As Velvet began to climb up, the girls stared in wonder as Velvet was able to grab the thorny plants without feeling pain.

"It's something called Aura, it protects me against things that hurt me." Velvet explained as she climbed, ducking to avoid a bramble, but not far enough. As she jumped out of the hole, her beret was swept off of her head, revealing her ears as plain as day.

"My beret!" Velvet exclaimed, jumping back down into the hole, grabbing the beret on the way down. She fixed it, looking back up at the girls. "You saw nothing, deal?"

"We got it, we won't tell anyone the Angel is actually a Faunus!" Mint said, giggling.

"What did you say?" A man called from behind them, and Mint and Ivy ran out of Velvet's sight. "Where is this Faunus you speak of?"

Nathaniel looked down into the hole, his face turning from anger to a face of pure confusion. Velvet looked up from the hole, giving Nathaniel a slight wave. She climbed up fully, avoiding the brambles overhead this time.

"You- You're a Faunus!" Nathaniel exclaimed, backing away from Velvet in fear.

"Sir, it was a misunderstanding. Please don't tell anyone else-" Velvet said quickly, trying not to scare the man.

"Do you know why we hate the Faunus?" Nathaniel asked, his eyes wide in fear. "It's because of the state this village is in. A group of Faunus came here a few years ago and ransacked it, and they came over and over, looting and killing our families."

"I'm a huntress, dedicated to helping people. Where are these other Faunus?" Velvet asked, offering her hand to the leader.

"I can't believe this. You and those men are the only Faunus we've ever met, and you are drastically different! We believed all Faunus were that terrible, that cruel... That tasteless..." Nathaniel said, taking Velvet's hand.

"Those are just the corrupt ones. Just like humans, Faunus can be mean as well. But sometimes, us Faunus aren't so bad." Velvet replied, turning towards the village.


	8. Misunderstanding

_The Next Day_

"Citizens of Kakos! I come to you with an urgent message!" Nathaniel yelled, his voice echoing throughout the plains and the village itself.

People came out of their house as per usual, gathering in the center of town, looking at the platform that he and Velvet were standing on. He waited until everyone was present and then continued with his speech.

"This Angel of the Lord has provided us with blessings and healings, and she has provided us with the Word of God himself!" Nathaniel yelled, cheers erupting from the crowd.

"It is about the Faunus!" Nathaniel yelled, and the cheers immediately died down. "These Faunus that had been ruining our lives for years, the ones that disappeared but ten years ago, were corrupt!"

"Velvet has said that not every Faunus is corrupt! In the cities of Vale, Vacuo, Haven, Atlas, and even the whole world of Remnant, there are Faunus that are uncorrupt, that we have not yet seen! Velvet has stated that we must not hate until we see a whole of a people!" Nathaniel yelled, gaining some quiet cheers.

"Do you need proof? Velvet, show them the proof!" Nathaniel yelled out, and all eyes diverted to Velvet.

Velvet waved awkwardly, slowly removing her beret to reveal her ears. Gasps rang out amongst the crowd, but died down quickly. Suddenly, the whole crowd was cheering and chanting her name. She had singlehandedly changed an entire village for the best, and even spread the notion that not all Faunus are bad.

"Velvet, the Angel of the Lord, has blessed us greatly! Let us thank her!"


	9. Limelight

_That Night_

"Velvet, thanks a ton for your help." Alphonse said, shaking her hand fiercely.

"It's no problem, my friend Fox told me about this place, and I decided I needed to help fix it." Velvet blushed, shaking Steven's hand just as she did Alphonse's, turning back towards the helicarrier.

"If you need any help, just tell one of the kids to call me. I'll be back as soon as I can!" Velvet called out as she got onto the helicarrier. The entire town waved at her as she took off, departing back towards Beacon Academy.

She looked over the town one last time. Before she came, the soil was barren and cracked, yellow grass popping up sparsely. With the water and food she provided, their land was able to grow into a slightly lush green, with a fully functional farm. She had no doubt that the CB and the other kids would carry on her legacy in this she landed back at Beacon, the landing pad had to be cleared of all of the people surrounding it, Coco and Fox up front.

"Well, how did it go honey bun?" Coco asked, taking the beret off of Velvet's head and placing it on top of the one she already had on. "Did it work?"

"In five days I was able to turn a nearly desert town into a Faunus-loving, self-sustaining village." Velvet replied, embracing Coco.

"Hey Velvet, you're in the news!" Ruby yelled, having had pushed through the thick crowd beforehand. "Look at this! 'Kakos Village to rename to Village of Velvet'!"

"They called me an Angel of the Lord, just because I used the dust that Weiss helped me make heal their townspeople." Velvet laughed, remembering the looks on the townspeople's' faces.

"Hey! If Velvet was using that energy propellant stuff, wouldn't that mean that she's..." Yang called from the crowd.

"Yang, end that and I will end you." Coco snarled, staring at Yang.

"A dust bunny?"


End file.
